1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to storage and organizing systems and, in particular, to a wall mountable system for securely retaining and providing ready identification and access to stored materials.
2. The Prior Art
Systems, devices, and methods for storing and organizing articles are well-known and available in many different embodiments for many applications. Generally, the goal of such organizers and storage systems is to provide reasonable access to the stored items, while securely maintaining them in a minimal amount of space.
Storage systems and devices for storing smaller articles such as hand tools and parts are often used in shops, work areas, homes and the like. These systems and devices may include such things as conventional shelves; individual containers, boxes, jars and the like; storage chests and cabinets containing various sizes and types of drawers; and rotatable carousel systems which may utilize some of the embodiments described above. Unfortunately, none of the systems utilized for storing smaller articles appear to have been able to accomplish simultaneously all of these goals.
For example, shelf systems may provide easy access to stored items, but generally do not easily lend themselves to maintaining any type of article organization. Individual containers provide a means for separating groups or types of articles, but the containers themselves must, somehow, be secured in an organized fashion to provide accessibility and ease of identification of the stored materials.
Chests and cabinets containing drawers provide a means for segregating items, but even these devices are limited in organizing ability. For example, the drawers should be removable so that the user can carry the items he needs to his work space without moving the entire cabinet or chest. With several drawers removed, it is often difficult to determine which drawer belongs in which storage location of the cabinet or chest. Thus, a labeling system is necessary so the user can easily determine where to reinsert the drawer. Such a labeling system typically requires placement of information on surfaces adjacent the drawer location, and these adjacent surfaces are provided by increasing the spacing between the drawers.
Even if the drawers are not removeable, the forward end of the drawer is often transparent so that the drawer contents can be viewed to determine such things as quantity size, and type. In many cases, if labels were applied directly to the face of the forward end of the drawer, it would not be possible to view the contents. As a result, the systems also typically provided surfaces adjacent the drawer location for affixing labels and information. Thus, total storage area is increased in each of those drawer systems just so that surfaces can be provided for labeling purposes.
Each of the above-described prior art systems also experiences problems either with transportability, versatility, or both. For example, shelving is quite versatile in its ability to support many different types and sizes of items; however, it is almost impossible to transport the shelving without removing the materials positioned thereon. Individual containers are less versatile than shelves because of their fixed dimensions. The containers are also difficult to organize and transport in groups without providing some other type of support or storage system to retain the containers. Some chests and cabinets containing drawers are designed to be transportable, but the fixed dimensions of their drawers and storage areas severely limit their versatility with respect to the storage of materials of varying types and sizes. Once designed and built, cabinets and chests do not provide the capability of removing a given drawer or storage area and replacing it with another of a different size which is designed to accommodate different materials.
An additional problem relating to the transportability of each of these types of storage devices is that jostling or tilting of the device during handling or transport may result in spilling or mixing of the containers or, in the case of chests and cabinets, of the materials stored in the drawers.
Still another problem with prior art systems for storage and organization is their inflexibility with respect to expansion of storage capacity as the users' needs increase. It is often the case that a user has initially purchased or built systems for organizing and storing his materials based on his present needs or his short term expectations. However, as time passes many users "outgrow" those initial systems and there arises a need to expand. Because of the expense and inconvenience involved in acquiring additional work space, it is usually most desirable to minimize the space required for expansion of the organizing and storage systems. Typically, expansion of prior art storage systems requires building additional shelves, buying more containers, or purchasing additional chests or cabinets. Hence, a significant increase in storage area is often required in order to accomplish expansion.
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that what is needed in the art is an organized storage system for securely retaining items of various sizes in a minimum amount of space, while providing for ready and easy identification of, and access to, stored materials. The system should additionally provide a means for quickly expanding the storage capacity without significantly increasing the area occupied by the storage system. It would be a still further improvement in the art to have such a system which could be easily transported by hand and which, while being transported, would protect the stored contents from spilling or other damage, even when the system is positioned in unusual attitudes.